


Quality Time

by AvengerofSquids



Series: r/FanFiction Prompt Challenges [2]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: /r/FanFiction Challenge, Daryl's awkward and smooth at the same time it's not fair, Daryl's new to the relationship but Glenn and Maggie work hard to make sure he's included, Established Relationship, Flirting, Fluff, Insecure Daryl Dixon, M/M, Multi, OT3, POV Glenn Rhee, Polyamory, Prison, Season 3/4 Gap, Threesome - F/M/M, crossbow lesson, glenn and daryl go hunting, it's safe to assume Daryl is asexual in all of my fics unless I say otherwise, the three of them are in a poly relationship but this fic focuses on Darlenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25001533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengerofSquids/pseuds/AvengerofSquids
Summary: "You ever hunted anything before?""Nope, never." Glenn knows better than count his time playing Hunting Simulator 2002 in the arcade as anything near real hunting experience. Besides, he was pretty shit at that game..Normally Daryl strikes out alone on his hunting trips, so when he invites Glenn along, the invitation comes as a bit of a shock. It makes sense, though; they've been trying to spend more time together, but since the Woodbury folks joined their group, things have been rather chaotic and Glenn's hardly had time to speak to either of his partners, let alone spend any quality time with them. This must be Daryl's way of trying to fix that.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Glenn Rhee, Daryl Dixon/Maggie Greene/Glenn Rhee
Series: r/FanFiction Prompt Challenges [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1449658
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36
Collections: /r/FanFiction Prompt Challenge #19 / June 2020, Gay Pride Month, Pride Month 2020





	Quality Time

**Author's Note:**

> What happens when you find out there are only sixteen fics on here for your polyship? You write one of your own, of course! This is set about a month after Daryl joined the relationship - Maggie and Glenn have been together since the farm, but right after season three they invited Daryl to join :) I'm planning on making this a series, so the next fic for this will probably talk about how it all started.
> 
> First time writing most of these characters and first finished piece for this fandom, sorry if anything seems OOC! I'm not 100% happy with this but I had a deadline so I'm posting it anyways. I had a lot of fun writing it though and it was good practice.
> 
> My prompts from r/fanfiction were Rainbow and the words "draw" and "quality."

It started with Daryl forcing Glenn to follow him outside. 

  
Glenn was _supposed_ to have the morning off after spending a good portion of the night on watch, but who was he to refuse his boyfriend after the man surprised him with a kiss in the middle of the dining room? Daryl was rarely one for PDA, so when he pressed a kiss to Glenn's jaw in front of everyone during breakfast and said to meet him outside in twenty minutes, that meant something was up.

  
When he tried pestering Maggie for details while they finished eating, she only rolled her eyes and told him to figure it out himself, which meant she was totally in on it. God only knows what they had been planning while he was stuck in the watchtower for half the night. 

  
"It's not a sex thing," she finally said when he resorted to trying to pull her shoes off with his feet. "Now hurry up and eat your damn eggs so you can spend some quality time with your man."

  
That didn't really answer anything, because Glenn hadn't even considered it _being_ a sex thing, but he clearly wasn't going to get anything more from his wife so he returned his focus to eating.

  
What did Daryl have planned?

.

  
"The fuck are those?"

  
Glenn pauses, following Daryl's gaze to find that the man was frowning at his shoes. "Um. Sneakers?"

  
Daryl scoffs, straightening from where he'd been leaning against the watchtower. "Yeah, I can see that. Didn't Maggie tell you to wear some good shoes?"

  
"No, she wouldn't tell me anything, said you'd give me the details. Does this mean we're going out on a run?" Glenn asked.

  
"'Course not." Daryl turns and strides over to the gate, leaving Glenn jogging behind him to catch up. "We're gonna head into the woods for a few hours, see if we can bag any squirrels, maybe some pheasants if we're lucky. We can check up on the big walker herd down south too, make sure they haven't started moving this way."

  
"Ah." Normally Daryl strikes out alone on his hunting trips, so to Glenn, the invitation comes as a bit of a shock. It makes sense, though; they've been trying to spend more time together, but since the Woodbury folks joined their group, things have been rather chaotic and Glenn's hardly had time to speak to either of his partners, let alone spend any quality time with them. This must be Daryl's way of trying to fix that. "So how are we doing this? I'll keep watch for walkers while you hunt?"

  
Daryl smirks and Glenn nearly trips over his own feet because _god_ , that makes him want to kiss the man even more. "I was thinkin' we try things the other way around, actually, see if we can put that brain of yours to good use. You ever hunted anything before?"

  
"Nope, never." Glenn knows better than count his time playing _Hunting Simulator 2002_ in the arcade as anything near real hunting experience. Besides, he was pretty shit at that game. "You showed me a bit of tracking, back at the farm, but we didn't get very far with that."

  
Daryl hums in response before waving down Carl, who's standing guard by the gate. A little further down, Sasha and Carol are busy stabbing into the throng of walkers pressed against the chain-link fence. 

  
"Glenn and I are headin' out to do some scouting, see if we can bring anything back to eat while we wait on the garden," Daryl explains as Carl unlocks the fence. "Walkers haven't slowed down?"

  
"If anything, there's more of them," Carl grumbles. "We might need to up the number of people on fence duty if they keep coming. Dad said you spotted a herd last time you were out, think it has to do with that?"

  
"That's what we're hoping to figure out." Daryl says, before loading his crossbow and slipping through the gate with Glenn on his heels. The others bang on the fence to draw the walkers away as the two men hurry into the woods.

  
Once they've gotten far enough from the walkers, Daryl signals for Glenn to stop before taking a moment to study his surroundings. He toes at a dislodged stone before turning and heading deeper into the forest. Glenn follows, keeping his knife drawn and his mouth shut. His partner will talk when he sees something worth mentioning.

  
They keep pace for a while, changing course every now and then to avoid groups of walkers, and eventually reach a creek with a decent-sized clearing next to it. Daryl sets his crossbow down carefully before grabbing a nearby log and hauling it upright.

  
There's a couple of footprints in the mud by the riverbank, and Glenn heads over to investigate while doing his best to keep from messing them up. "Are these worth following? They look like deer prints."

  
Once he's finished standing up the log, Daryl glances over Glenn's shoulder at the tracks before shaking his head. "Nah, see how feathered they are at the edges and how shallow they've become? They're at least a day old, not worth it at this point. If I was on a longer hunting trip I might consider following them, but we need to save time to check out that herd on the way back. Shouldn't be too hard to find something more recent, fresh water's one of the best places to start lookin' around."

  
Glenn follows Daryl back to the clearing as the man retrieves his crossbow. "Makes sense. What's the log for, then?"

  
"You think you can hunt anything with just a knife? It's for target practice, no point handing you a weapon you don't know how to use." Daryl gestures for Glenn to come over and stand next to him.

  
_Holy shit._

  
"You're letting me use your crossbow?" That crossbow was one of Daryl's most prized possessions and something he was very protective of; Glenn could count on one hand the number of times he's seen anyone besides Daryl lay a finger on it. He's even gotten pissy at Maggie for moving it without asking him first, even though he didn't give a shit about her stealing his vest to sleep in a couple weeks back (in fact, Glenn's pretty sure the guy enjoyed seeing her wearing it around the prison like it wasn't a big deal.)

  
"Not only that, I'm also giving you free lessons. Otherwise you'd probably end up shootin' yourself in the foot, and Maggie would kill me if I brought you home with anything more than a scratch."

  
"No way, she likes you too much for that. She always lets you get away with pulling stupid shit," Glenn grumbles, bumping Daryl's arm with his shoulder. "Probably would scold me for not listening to your directions, then turn around and thank you for carrying me back. Would you hold me in your arms, like a bridal carry, as we dramatically return to the camp, then kiss me passionately when Hershel declares that I'll have a perfect recovery? Because that might be worth getting shot in the foot."

  
Daryl huffs and moves behind Glenn, using his hands to adjust the younger man's stance. "I'd sling you over my shoulder like an animal carcass, dumbass, you have to earn a bridal carry. 'sides, getting the cold shoulder from Maggie wouldn't be worth it, who knows how long it could be until she had sex with you again."

  
"Damn, that's true." Since he and Daryl aren't having sex (they decided to take things slow and haven't really talked about it since, so Glenn's not sure when that's going to be on the table), he'd be on forced abstinence until he worked things out with Maggie. "But that's like corporal punishment from her, she'd probably decide shooting myself in the foot was enough and she'd mostly just be glad I got back okay. Plus, that means she'd be going without sex too."

  
It's not that Maggie would withhold sex from him just because she was upset, but when the two of them do fight (a rare occasion to be sure, but one always happens eventually) it can take at least a few days for things to cool down. Maggie especially does not like being touched when she's mad, while Glenn tends to avoid people he's not getting along with; both of those combined means that sex is not even a possibility. Luckily, neither of them enjoys being mad at the other and they're both quick to apologize, so things tend to work themselves out pretty quickly.

  
In the past month, ever since he became a part of this relationship, Daryl has stepped up to the role of intermediary without being prompted. He can easily match Maggie's stubbornness and knows that Glenn's loose tongue means that stuff he says when angry should not be taken at face value. Daryl might be prone to anger, but in many ways he's the most level headed of the three, because he's able to put that rage aside and focus on the task at hand better than they can.

  
Glenn startles when Daryl taps his leg with a foot, too distracted to notice the man moving around behind him. He mutters a quick apology before shifting his weight until Daryl's happy with how he's standing. "So that log's the target?"

  
"It will be, but don't get ahead of yourself. You're not firing a single bolt until you know how to handle this thing properly." Daryl hands the crossbow to Glenn and moves his hands to the right spot. "This here's the safety, keep it on even though it's not cocked. These sights work the same as that rifle we keep up in the watchtower; try aiming at that knot on the stump."

  
The crossbow's heavier than most of the guns Glenn's used to, but he's able to hold it steady without too much trouble. Daryl spends a few minutes circling him and correcting his posture until he's satisfied with it. 

  
"I'll load the first few bolts for you, after that you can give it a try." Daryl takes the crossbow back and leans it against the ground, pulling the string back in one smooth motion until it clicks. He fits the first bolt in the groove, showing Glenn how one fletching is a different color than the rest.

  
"You make sure that one's face down, otherwise you'll miss your shot for sure and maybe even fuck up your bow. Just like a gun, the ammo has to be loaded right for it to work." He passes the weapon back to Glenn and helps him return to the proper stance before flicking the safety off. "This part's a lot like firing a gun; relax, be sure not to jerk it up in anticipation."

  
Glenn centers his sight on the log, takes a second to let out a breath, then pulls the trigger. The bolt glances against the side of the log, falling to the ground without leaving so much as a chip in the wood, but Glenn's just surprised he hit it on his first try. Daryl seems to agree, because he gives an approving grunt before clapping a hand on Glenn's shoulder.

  
The next twenty minutes go by pretty quickly, with Glenn kept busy firing and retrieving bolts. He manages to hit the log most of the time and even gets within a few inches of the knot once or twice but never lands a perfect shot. Still, he's happy with how it's been going so far, and if Daryl's lingering smile is any indication of his progress, he must be doing pretty well.

  
"Can I try loading it now?" Glenn finally asks as he returns the latest volley of bolts to Daryl, who had just slipped his foot into the stirrup. The man steps aside and shows Glenn where to grab the string as he pulls it back.

  
"Most people use an extra rope to help pull back this string, helps you get a bit of extra leverage and avoid hurting yourself if your fingers slip, but when you're being chased by walkers you don't usually have time to fiddle with an extra part so I'm used to cocking it without one. Might be able to find one on my next run if you need it though." Daryl explains. "You've seen me do this enough times I'm sure; remember, this one clicks twice once it's fully cocked, so don't let go until you've heard both."

  
Hooking his fingers around the string where Daryl's pointing, Glenn does his best to mimic the fluid pull upwards that Daryl does. He lets out a startled grunt when it offers more resistance than he was expecting, and his right hand nearly slips off the string before he catches it in time. Eventually he hears the second click and slowly releases the string to grab a bolt. He fires at the log and hits it just a few inches off-center.

  
"You made it look too easy, I wasn't expecting it to be that strong." Glenn complains, flashing a grin at Daryl as the man loads the next bolt. Daryl just raises an eyebrow at him before oh-so-casually reaching down and drawing the string one-handed. "Okay, now you're just showing off."

  
"Don't think I didn't notice you watching my arms and not the bow while I was showing you how to cock it," Daryl shoots back, which is _totally_ not playing fair, because how is Glenn not supposed to stare when the man's not wearing any sleeves? He's no bodybuilder, but his arms are nicely toned and definitely more muscular than most people's, probably because he loads crossbows and hauls deer around on a daily basis.

  
Glenn loads and fires the weapon a few more times before they decide it's time to get back to work and see what they can find out about the nearby herd. Daryl takes point, managing to bag a pheasant and a squirrel as they travel, while Glenn makes sure they aren't being followed by any walkers. 

  
They stumble across the bloody remains of a deer about thirty minutes in, and Daryl takes out one of the walkers with a quick bolt to the brain while Glenn tackles the other one and stabs into its skull until it goes limp. After that, they're forced to slow down by the many scattered groups of walkers, a far cry from the occasional stragglers Glenn was used to seeing wandering through the woods. 

  
"Michonne was right, they've definitely changed direction," Daryl says as they exit the tree line near the town. "See that group right there?"

  
Glenn peeks out from behind their cover and spots the walkers Daryl's pointing to, a group of at least fifteen in what looks like fast food uniforms. "Yeah? What about them?"

  
"Those uniforms? The nearest one of those is at least twenty miles up the road, in a place that should have held their interest for a while. If these bastards have migrated down here, they've probably eaten everything up in the big cities and need somethin' to tide them over, could be why they're finally movin' into the woods. It's a bad sign."

  
"So we should expect a ton of walkers to be clawing at the fences for a while then?" Glenn asks, ducking back into the bushes as another batch of walkers leaves the bar to join up with the first group. When Daryl nods, he lets out a sigh. "Damn it. We'll have to cut back on supply runs if we add any more folks to fence duty, we're short-handed as it is."

  
Daryl turns to head back to the prison, taking out a walker with a well-aimed bolt when it gets too close. "Might have to keep Michonne from heading out again until we've got things figured out; if a fence goes down we need her with us, not chasing after a cold trail."

  
The trip back through the woods goes by pretty quickly, with most of the herd being easy to avoid, but Daryl signals for Glenn to halt when they come across a lone walker. Glenn's confused until Daryl passes him the loaded crossbow.

  
"It's your first moving target, so don't stress about missing it. I've got your back," he says, stepping aside to give Glenn some space as he draws his knife.

  
The walker lets out a raspy gurgle, lurching towards them as Glenn lines up the shot. He forces himself to remain steady even as it reaches for him with outstretched arms; Daryl's not going to let it touch him.

  
He breathes in, lets it out, and pulls the trigger.

  
The bolt sinks into the walker's shoulder with a solid thunk, the force of the blow enough to send it stumbling back a step. Before it can recover, Daryl drives his knife into its brain before shoving it to the ground and yanking the bolt free.

  
"Not bad. You'll get the hang of it soon enough." Daryl takes his crossbow back and wipes the bolt clean before sliding it into place; Glenn doesn't miss how Daryl's hands had lingered on his during the trade-off. "If we hurry back you might be able to catch Maggie on her lunch break."

  
Glenn pauses, glancing back over his shoulder to meet Daryl's gaze. "You're joining us too, right?"

  
Daryl tense stance eases up slightly, his face softening as he gives Glenn a faint smile. "Yeah. I'll be there."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or critiques, please feel free to leave them in the comments :)
> 
> What would you folks be interested in next? A fic explaining how Daryl ended up in the relationship, a fluffy scene between the three of them, or an important talk between Daryl and Glenn about the future?


End file.
